154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment serves as the official honor guard regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and serves as the main honor guard unit of the armed forces, stationed in Moscow. Aside from being the honor guard unit it is also charged with duties assisting the Commander, Moscow Garrison, and to serve garrison and protection duties in the protection of the capital city and its military infrastructure, its barracks is at Lefortovo District, Moscow, part of the South-Eastern Administrative Okrug.

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As the Second World War was beginning to end in Europe in 1944 the Soviet NKVD in Moscow was charged with raising a full-time honor guard company as part of the 1st Regiment, OMSDON (then the NKVD 1st Special Duties Division), in the style and manner of the British Household Division's Foot Guards, the 3rd US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) and the French Republican Guard's First Infantry Regiment. It later joined the 73rd Special Duties Battalion (later the 465th Special Duties Company, later itself renamed the 465th Special Commandant's Company) in 1948, now part of the regular armed forces, this was the precursor of the Honor Guard Company that would later form the 154th ICR of today, the very company in which the Victory Banner was welcomed with full honors in June 1945 into Moscow.

On 10 April 1949, the 465th SCC, by order of the Soviet Armed Forces General Staff, became the 99th Independent Commandant's Battalion.

On 29 November 1956, by order of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, the 1st Independent Honor Guard Company and the Military Band of the Honor Guard were raised, both under the supervision of the Office of the Moscow Military Garrison Commandant.

The company adopted full parade dress in 1960 in the uniforms of the 3 service arms of the Soviet Armed Forces: the Soviet Army, Soviet Air Forces and the Soviet Navy in its three platoons. The regulations for such use were amended via a 1971 General Orders of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, to be used only in state occasions, ceremonies and national holidays when permitted.[1]

On December 1979, on the recommendation of the Soviet Army General Staff the 99th ICB became the 154th Independent Commandant's Regiment, therefore merging the 99th ICB and the 1st IHGC and raising new component units, its duty was for the protection of the Moscow Garrison Commandant's headquarters and providing ceremonial guards in state events.

In 1980 several servicemen from the regiment took part in the 1980 Olympic opening ceremony wearing civilian formal dress escorting the Olympic Flag.

The regiment's Special Duties Company took part in Exercise Zapad-81 the following year as part of the Soviet Armed Forces contingent, and received the Medal "For Courage in a Fire" for its fire fighting efforts that year when a fire broke out in the Moscow Oblast.

The regiment took part in the 1985 World Festival of Youth and Students and in the 1987 commemorations of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino.

In May 1991, the 1st Independent Honor Guard Company became the Honor Guard Battalion of the 154th ICR as another honor guard company was raised.

The 154th Independent Commandant's Regiment formally became the 154th 'Preobrazhensky' Independent Commandant's Regiment (the "Preobrazhensky" honorific title was in tribute to the Preobrazhensky Regiment) on 9 April 2013 by presidential decree no. 326 signed by Russian presidentVladimir Putin.[2] Putin had previously outlined a plan to reinstate the regiment's honorific title in an address to the Russian Federal Assembly in 2012,[3] with the stated aim being to "strengthen the historical continuity" of the Russian Armed Forces by resurrecting the names of "famous, legendary units and formations of the Russian and Soviet armies".[4] The regiment today is made of more than a thousand servicemen from all units of the Russian Armed Forces, composed of 3 battalions (the Honor Guard Btn.and the 1st and 2nd Commandant's Battalions) and other independent units comprising it, including its Special Duties Company.

The 154th Independent Commandant's Regiment, and its predecessors, have been involved in various state and international events through the years. Aside from its duties at sporting events, other activities where they were involved include their attendance in various Soviet state funerals (including the Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev) and in the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow from 1965 onward, where they always provide the honor guard unit for the commemorative activities.

1.
Preobrazhensky Regiment
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Along with the Semyonovsky Regiment, the Preobrazhensky Regiment also served as a gendarmerie unit for the state Secret Chancellery in the 18th century, headed by the Prince Fyodor Romodanovsky. It was formed by Peter the Great in the late 17th century from his poteshnye voiska during his games in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. The Preobrazhensky regiment distinguished itself during the Great Northern War of 1700–1721, the Patriotic War of 1812, the regiment was disbanded by its last commander, Colonel Alexander Kutepov in December 1917. In the 18th and 19th centuries, membership was reserved to young Russian aristocrats and was considered a proof of loyalty to the government, among its membership was the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. 1683 - Peter the Great begins to assemble the droll regiments, initially the number of soldiers was fewer than fifty. 1687 - Droll regiments become the Semenovsky regiment and Preobrazhensky regiments of the regular army,1695 - Preobrazhensky regiment takes part in the Azov campaigns. 1696 - The regiment is divided into four battalions and two companies of bombardiers and grenadiers. 1700—1720 - Takes part in all battles of the Great Northern War. 1700 - Before the Battle of Narva is officially named Leib-Guard Preobrazhensky regiment,1706 - Tsar Peter the Great adopts the military rank of Colonel of Preobrazhensky regiment. 1722 - Takes part in the war against Persia,1722 - According to Russian Table of Ranks soldiers of Preobrazhensky regiment were to be considered two ranks higher than in ordinary units. 1726 - Moscow company of Preobrazhensky regiment becomes a separate Moscow leib-guard battalion, 1737—1739 - War against Ottoman Empire. 1737 - Takes part in the Battle of Ochakov,1762 - On 17 July declared first and highest in the military order of precedence in the Imperial Russian Army and the Imperial Russian Guard. 1808 - On 9 September the 2nd battalion of the regiment enters the Corps of Major-General Strogonov in Vilmanstrand,1811 - The regiment is transformed into 3 battalions, each battalion now comprises one grenadier company and three fusilier companies. During the French retreat from Moscow the regiment was in the all the time. 1877—1878 - War against Ottoman Empire, 1914—1917 - World War I.1917 - Participated in the February Revolution by their mutiny on Monday 12 March leading to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. Disbanded in December by Alexander Kutepov, its last commander and this colour was given to the regiment in order to celebrate its action at Kulm, where the outnumbered Preobrazhensky regiment withstood the charge of French troops. The well-known March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment was written in the time of Peter the Great and it was also used as an unofficial national anthem in imperial times. It is used often in Russia, also in the annual Victory Day parade for the trooping of the colours and it is also the slow march of the Royal Marines

2.
President of Russia
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The President of the Russian Federation is the elected head of state, Supreme Commander-in-Chief and holder of the highest office within the Russian Federation. The current President of Russia is Vladimir Putin, in 1991, the office was briefly known as the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic until 25 December 1991. According to the 1978 Russian Constitution, the President of Russia was head of the executive branch, according to the current 1993 Constitution of Russia, the President of Russia is not a part of the Government of Russia, which exercises executive power. In all cases where the President of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfill his duties, they shall be temporarily delegated to the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the Federation Council is the third important position after the President and the Prime Minister. In the case of incapacity of both the President and Prime Minister, the chairman of the house of parliament becomes acting head of state. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the Russian Federation, the president is elected directly through a popular vote to a six-year term. The law prohibits anyone from ever being elected to the presidency for a consecutive term. In all,3 individuals have served 4 presidencies spanning 6 full terms, on May 7,2012, Vladimir Putin became the 4th and current president. A candidate for office must be a citizen of the Russian Federation who is at least 35 years old and has resided in Russia for at least 10 years. The Constitution of Russia limits the election of one person to the Presidency to two consecutive terms, since the constitution contains no ruling on a total number of terms that a President may serve, a former president may seek re-election after sitting out one complete term. The election of the President is mainly regulated by the Presidential Election Law, the Federation Council calls the presidential elections. If it does not call an election that is due. The Election Day is the second Sunday of the month and the electoral constituency is the territory of the Russian Federation as a whole. Each faction in the State Duma, the house of the Russian parliament has the right to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections. The minimum number of signatures for a presidential candidate fielded by a party with no parliamentary representation is 100,000. Terms were extended from four to six years in 2008, during Dmitry Medvedevs administration, the President is elected in a two-round system every six years, with a two consecutive term limitation. If no candidate wins by an majority in the first round

3.
Russian Ground Forces
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The Ground Forces of the Russian Federation are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the primary responsibilities of the Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, the security of occupied territories, and the defeat of enemy troops. The Ground Forces must be able to achieve goals both in nuclear war and non-nuclear war, especially without the use of weapons of mass destruction. Furthermore, they must be capable of protecting the interests of Russia within the framework of its international obligations. The Main Command of the Ground Forces is officially tasked with the objectives, The training of troops for combat. The improvement of troops structure and composition, and the optimization of their numbers, the development of military theory and practice. The development and introduction of training manuals, tactics. The improvement of operational and combat training of the Ground Forces, the newly re-emergent Russia retained most of the ranks of the Soviet Army, with some minor changes. The principal difference from the usual Western style is some variation in generals rank titles—in at least one case, Colonel General, the gallery below shows a selection of insignia, common to the Ground Forces – LF. As the Soviet Union dissolved, efforts were made to keep the Soviet Armed Forces as a military structure for the new Commonwealth of Independent States. The last Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union, Marshal Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, was appointed commander of the CIS Armed Forces in December 1991. Among the numerous treaties signed by the republics, in order to direct the transition period, was a temporary agreement on general purpose forces. Thirty-seven divisions had to be withdrawn from the four groups of forces and the Baltic States, some idea of the scale of the withdrawal can be gained from the division list. For the dissolving Soviet Ground Forces, the withdrawal from the former Warsaw Pact states and the Baltic states was a demanding, expensive. However, the facilities in those districts were inadequate to house the flood of personnel and equipment returning from abroad, the need for destruction and transfer of large amounts of weaponry under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe also necessitated great adjustments. The Ministry of Defence newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda published a plan on 21 July 1992. Later one commentator said it was put together by the General Staff to satisfy the public demand for radical changes. The General Staff, from that point, became a bastion of conservatism, the reform plan advocated a change from an Army-Division-Regiment structure to a Corps-Brigade arrangement

4.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice

5.
Moscow
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Moscow is the capital and most populous city of Russia, with 13.2 million residents within the city limits and 17.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a Russian federal city, Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth and it is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe, the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, and the Moscow International Business Center. Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia, the city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basils Cathedral with its brightly colored domes. Moscow is the seat of power of the Government of Russia, being the site of the Moscow Kremlin, the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament also sit in the city and it is recognized as one of the citys landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations. In old Russian the word also meant a church administrative district. The demonym for a Moscow resident is москвич for male or москвичка for female, the name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the Moskva River. There have been proposed several theories of the origin of the name of the river and its cognates include Russian, музга, muzga pool, puddle, Lithuanian, mazgoti and Latvian, mazgāt to wash, Sanskrit, majjati to drown, Latin, mergō to dip, immerse. There exist as well similar place names in Poland like Mozgawa, the original Old Russian form of the name is reconstructed as *Москы, *Mosky, hence it was one of a few Slavic ū-stem nouns. From the latter forms came the modern Russian name Москва, Moskva, in a similar manner the Latin name Moscovia has been formed, later it became a colloquial name for Russia used in Western Europe in the 16th–17th centuries. From it as well came English Muscovy, various other theories, having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. The surface similarity of the name Russia with Rosh, an obscure biblical tribe or country, the oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Neolithic. Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered, on the territory of the Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River and Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc. The earliest East Slavic tribes recorded as having expanded to the upper Volga in the 9th to 10th centuries are the Vyatichi and Krivichi, the Moskva River was incorporated as part of Rostov-Suzdal into the Kievan Rus in the 11th century. By AD1100, a settlement had appeared on the mouth of the Neglinnaya River. The first known reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a place of Yuri Dolgoruky. At the time it was a town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality

6.
Russian Air Force
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The Russian Air Force is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on the 1 August 2015 with the merger of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. The modern Russian Air Force was originally established on the 7 May 1992 following Boris Yeltsins creation of the Ministry of Defence, however the air force can trace its lineage and traditions back to the Imperial Russian Air Service and the Soviet Air Forces. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, general Pyotr Deynekin, the former deputy commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Forces, became the first commander of the new organisation on 24 August 1991. Russia received the majority of the most modern fighters and 65% of the manpower, the major commands of the former Soviet VVS – the Long Range Aviation, Military Transport Aviation and Frontal Aviation were renamed, with few changes, Russian VVS commands. However, many regiments, aircraft, and personnel were claimed by the republics they were based in, some aircraft in Belarus and Ukraine were returned to Russia, sometimes in return for debt reductions, as well as a long range aviation division based at Dolon in Kazakhstan. During the 1990s, the financial stringency felt throughout the forces made its mark on the Air Forces as well. As a result of the cutbacks, infrastructure became degraded as well, the VVS participated in the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War. These campaigns also presented significant difficulties for the VVS including the terrain, lack of significant fixed targets and insurgents armed with Stinger, the former Soviet Air Defence Forces remained independent for several years under Russian control, only merging with the Air Forces in 1998. The decree merging the two forces was issued by President Boris Yeltsin on 16 July 1997, during 1998 altogether 580 units and formations were disbanded,134 reorganized, and over 600 given a new jurisdiction. More than 600,000 tons of material changed location and 3500 aircraft changed airfields, Military Transport Aviation planes took more than 40,000 families to new residence areas. The short-lived operational commands were abolished, two air armies, 37th Air Army and 61st Air Army, were established directly under the Supreme Command. The former frontal aviation and anti-aircraft forces were organized as Air Force Armies, there were initially four such armies with headquarters in St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Khabarovsk, and Chita. Two military districts had separate Air and Air Defence Corps, when the Transbaikal Military District and Siberian Military District were merged, the 14th Air Army was reactivated to serve as the air force formation in the area. The number of servicemen in the Air Force was reduced to about 185,000 from the combined number of 318,000. 123,500 positions were abolished, including almost 1000 colonel positions, the resignation of 3000 other servicemen included 46 generals of which 15 were colonel generals. The former Army Aviation was subsequently managed by the Chief of the Department of Army Aviation, during the 2000s, the Air Forces continued to suffer from a lack of resources for pilot training. In the 1990s Russian pilots achieved approximately 10% of the hours of the United States Air Force. In 2007, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the Russian Air Force resumed the Soviet-era practice of deploying its strategic bomber aircraft on long-range patrols and this ended a 15-year unilateral suspension due to fuel costs and other economic difficulties after the collapse of the Soviet Union

7.
Russian Navy
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The Russian Navy is the naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. The regular Russian Navy was established by Peter the Great in October 1696, ascribed to Peter I is the oft quoted statement, A ruler that has but an army has one hand, but he who has a navy has both. The symbols of the Russian Navy, the St. Andrews ensign, neither Janes Fighting Ships nor the International Institute for Strategic Studies list any standard ship prefixes for the vessels of the Russian Navy. For official U. S. Navy photographs, they are referred to as RFS—Russian Federation Ship. However, the Russian Navy itself does not use this convention, a rearmament program approved in 2007 placed the development of the navy on an equal footing with the strategic nuclear forces for the first time in Soviet and Russian history. This program, covering the period until 2015, expected to see the replacement of 45 percent of the inventory of the Russian Navy, out of 4.9 trillion rubles allocated for military rearmament,25 percent will go into building new ships. Another setback is attributed to Russias domestic shipbuilding industry which is reported to have been in decline as to their capabilities of constructing contemporary hardware efficiently, some analysts even say that because of this Russias naval capabilities have been facing a slow but certain irreversible collapse. The origins of the Russian navy may be traced to the period between the 4th and the 6th century, the first Slavic flotillas consisted of small sailing ships and rowboats, which had been seaworthy and able to navigate in riverbeds. During the 9th through 12th centuries, there were flotillas in the Kievan Rus consisting of hundreds of vessels with one, riverine vessels in 9th century Kievan Rus guarded trade routes to Constantinople. The citizens of Novgorod are known to have conducted military campaigns in the Baltic Sea —although contemporary Scandinavian sources state that the fleet was from Karelia or Estonia, ladya was a typical boat used by the army of Novgorod. There were also smaller sailboats and rowboats, such as ushkuys for sailing in rivers, lakes and skerries, kochis, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Cossacks conducted military campaigns against the Crimean Khanate and Ottoman Empire, using sailboats and rowboats. The Don Cossacks called them strugs and these boats were capable of transporting up to 80 men. The Cossack flotillas numbered 80 to 100 boats, the centralized Russian state had been fighting for its own access to the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov since the 17th Century. By the end of century, the Russians had accumulated some valuable experience in using riverboats together with land forces. Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, the construction of the first three-masted ship to be entirely within Russia was finished in 1636. She was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein with a European design, in 1668, they built a 26-gun ship, the Oryol, a yacht, a boat with a mast and bowsprit, and a few rowboats. Unquestionably the most celebrated Russian explorer was Semyon Dezhnev, who, in 1648, rounding the Chukotsk Peninsula, Dezhnev passed through the Bering Sea and sailed into the Pacific Ocean. The regular Russian Navy was created at the initiative of Peter the Great, during the Second Azov campaign of 1696 against the Ottoman Empire, the Russians employed for the first time 2 warships,4 fireships,23 galleys and 1300 strugs, built on the Voronezh River

8.
Guard of honour
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An honor guard, or ceremonial guard, is a ceremonial unit, usually military in nature. A primary role for honor guards in the United States and some countries is to provide funeral honors for fallen comrades. An honor guard may also serve as the guardians of the colors by displaying and escorting the national flag on ceremonial occasions at official state functions, finally, honor guards usually provide detachments for review by visiting heads of state. Honor guards also serve in the world for fallen police officers. Persons serving in this capacity may or may not be designated, meaning they may not be assigned to serve each, in the USA, military honor guards may serve as ambassadors to the public, presenting a positive image of their service, and assisting with the recruiting effort. In member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, a guard mounted for ceremonial events is known as a guard of honour. Still serving as part of the Argentine Army, they are the presidential guard, two unmounted grenadiers are stationed in front of the Pink House as a symbol of the ceremonial and honor guard. The Brazilian armed forces and police have several troops for ceremonial usages, the most important of them is the Brazilian presidents honor guard. It is composed of the 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment – Independence Dragoons, the Presidential Guard Battalion, National Guards Unit includes military units for army salute ceremonials, a band and a wind orchestra. They marched as the first division in the parade of the 35th, 50th. They are often on parades led by a guard detail carrying the PLA flag. It is stationed at the Casa de Nariño in Bogota and carries the traditions of Simon Bolivars infantry guards company raised in the midst of the Spanish American wars of independence in 1815, in Croatia, the Honor Guard Battalion serves as the guard of honor. The Honor Guard Battalion performs protocol tasks for the needs of state and military officials, as well as tasks related to the protection. It consist of up to 300 members, the unit is under direct command of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. The Republican Guard of the French Gendarmerie provides both foot and horse-mounted guards of honor, in addition, the Wachbataillon takes part in military events and ceremonies of major importance. In Greece, the Presidential Guard is a unit of the Greek Army having the privilege to guard the Monument of the Unknown Soldier. Its members, mostly known as Evzones must be taller than 1. 85m and are trained hard as their duty includes standing completely still for more than an hour 4 times a day. They are famous for their discipline, the ability to stand motionless without even blinking, their stylish walking

9.
Russian Armed Forces
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The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military service of the Russian Federation, established after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is the President of Russia, the Russian Armed Forces were formed in 1992. These are not normally included as branches of the Armed Forces but are used in armed conflicts. The number of personnel is specified by decree of the President of Russia, on 1 January 2008, a number of 2,019,629 units, including military of 1,134,800 units, was set. In 2010 the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated that the Russian Armed Forces numbered about 1,027,000 active troops and in the region of 2,035,000 reserves. As opposed to personnel specified by decree, actual personnel in the forces are paid was reported by the Audit Chamber of Russia as 766,000 in October 2013, as of December 2016, the armed forces are at 93 percent of the required manpower. According to SIPRI, Russia spent $66.4 billion on arms in 2015, between the years 2005-2009 and 2010-2014, Russian exports of major weapons increased by 37 percent according to SIPRI. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, share of weapons in the Armed Forces reached from 26 to 48% among different kinds of troops in December 2014. This was raised to 30. 5–70. 7% as of July 2015, average was 48 per cent over the first half of 2016. The Soviet Union officially dissolved on 31 December 1991, leaving the Soviet military in limbo, for the next year and a half various attempts to keep its unity and to transform it into the military of the Commonwealth of Independent States failed. Until 1995, it was planned to form at least 11 brigades numbering 3,000 to 5,000 each, National Guard military units were to be deployed in 10 regions, including in Moscow, Leningrad, and a number of other important cities and regions. By the end of September 1991 in Moscow the National Guard was about 15,000 strong, in the end, President Yeltsin tabled a decree On the temporary position of the Russian Guard, but it was not put into practice. On 14 February 1992 Shaposhnikov formally became Supreme Commander of the CIS Armed Forces, finally, on 7 May 1992 Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the armed forces and Yeltsin assumed the duties of the Supreme Commander. In May 1992 General Colonel Pavel Grachev became the Minister of Defence, by August or December 1993 CIS military structures had become CIS military cooperation structures with all real influence lost. In the next few years, Russian forces withdrew from central and eastern Europe, the Armed Forces have several bases in foreign countries, especially on territory of the former Soviet Republics. A new military doctrine, promulgated in November 1993, implicitly acknowledged the contraction of the old Soviet military into a military power without global ambitions. Such change proved extremely difficult to achieve, under Pavel Grachev little military reform took place, though there was a plan to create more deployable mobile forces. Later Defence Minister Rodionov had good qualifications but did not manage to institute lasting change, only under Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev did a certain amount of limited reform begin, though attention focused upon the Strategic Rocket Forces

10.
Lefortovo District
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Lefortovo District is a district of South-Eastern Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. It is named after an associate of Tsar Peter the Great, Franz Lefort. Lefortovo is considered to have founded in 1699. In the 18th century, it was home to Annenhof, Lefortovo Palace, Sloboda Palace, in later centuries, the district hosted troops and military organizations, and also became heavily industrialized. The present-day Lefortovo is famous for the Lefortovo Prison, Lefortovo park, several higher educational institutions are located in Lefortovo, such as the Moscow Power Engineering Institute

12.
ODON
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ODON is an initialism for Отдельная дивизия оперативного назначения. The precursor to the ODON was the 1st Automobile Fighting Detachment of the VTsIK which was created in February 1918, the detachment was tasked with guarding the members of the VTsIK and the Sovnarkom and providing them with passenger cars. After relocation of the government to Moscow in March 1918, it was assigned to guarding the Moscow Kremlin as the site of the government alongside the Red Latvian Riflemen, then the Kremlin cadets. The detachment was renamed 1st Armored Car Detachment Ya. M. Sverdlov in 1919, at the peak of its strength, the detachment had over 400 troops. VChK became OGPU in 1922, and the OSNAZ was renamed accordingly, on 17 June 1924, the OSNAZ battalion, an OGPU rifle battalion and an OGPU rifle regiments formed the Special-Purpose Division of the OGPU Troops. The DON included 4 rifle regiments with an Armored Car detachment, in August 1926, the division was renamed Special-Purpose Division F. E. Dzerzhinsky of the OGPU Troops. Throughout 1926, one regiment and five more battalions joined the DON. In 1929, the DON was reorganized as an army division. In 1931, the Armoured Car detachment was reorganized into an armoured regiment, in 1934, OGPU was transferred to the Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs. The division fought on the front lines of the Winter War against free Finland, along with participation in hostilities, division elements in Moscow detained 485 enemy intelligence agents,69,753 deserters, over 320,000 offenders of the established regime. On 07.11.1941, the took part in the military parade in Moscows Red Square. In the battle against German troops, the snipers of the 4 Cavalry Regiment distinguished themselves, on the first deployment of the two sniper Regiments in 1942, they killed 853 German soldiers and officers. In total, in 1942 sniper division has killed 6440 German soldiers and officers, the OMSDON units protected the Allied leaders during the Yalta conference. In preparation for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, an group of OMSDON troops was trained with special forces tactics. The final USSR designation of the division was OMSDON, in 1994, the OMSDON was renamed as the Independent Operational Purpose Division or ODON. The unit has been once again named after F. E. E. Dzerzhinsky

13.
Household Division
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In the United Kingdom, the most senior infantry and cavalry regiments are respectively known as the Foot Guards, and the Household Cavalry. From this origin developed the practice of designating a country’s finest military units as forming Household or Guards regiments, members of the Household Divisions would accompany the monarch to protect him when he ventured into the public. Hence, as kingdoms grew larger and more complex, the Household Divisions naturally became part of the public spectacle of the state. Their uniforms, weapons and even personal attributes such as height were selected to engender awe on ceremonial occasions, the Household Divisions thus developed a tradition of providing a theatrical ceremonial accompaniment to important national events. From this development comes the association of Household Divisions with wealth, snobbery, and discrimination, today, members of the remaining Household Divisions continue to enjoy a certain social prestige within the armed forces and the state at large. They do, however, continue to fulfil their roles at state occasions. The Household Division concept is not applied in Australia and it does not have a protective role for the Head of State. Drawing its members from all three services of the Australian Defence Force, the Guard is the first purely ceremonial unit in the history of the Australian Defence Force. There are two Canadian Household Foot Guards, the Governor Generals Foot Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards, the three Household Divisions are all members of the Primary Reserve rather than a regular force units. All three regiments contribute active soldiers and ceremonial guards, the Governor Generals Foot Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards combine on an ad hoc basis to form the infantry Ceremonial Guard. Prior to 1970, the four battalions of the now disbanded Canadian Guards provided the infantry element of the Household Division. Although India is a republic, its history as an empire within the British Empire has left it with a host of institutions of quasi-imperial forms, as a result, the Indian military retains two Household Divisions, despite recognising the authority of no royal household. The Brigade of the Guards is the countrys Foot Guard regiment, the Malaysian Army maintains two Household Divisionns, the Royal Malay Regiment, and the Mounted Ceremonial Squadron, Royal Armoured Corps. Their responsibilities are at the Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur as the Royal Household Troops, from 1950–1968, the term Household Brigade was used. In 2004, however, the Minister of Defence announced that the Foot Guards would gain a reserve battalion, the Household Division and the Kings Troop, Royal Horse Artillery are collectively referred to as the Household Troops. They are under the command of the Major-General Commanding the Household Division, the Divisional command is made up of the Major General, his Chief of Staff, the Brigade Major, the Staff Captain, Staff Officer Ceremonial, Superintending Clerk and the Garrison Sergeant Major. In addition, both the Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards have their own chains of command, as do the individual regiments, the connection with the Sovereign remains important ceremonially and operationally, and the Household Division provides both ceremonial and operational support for the Crown. The Sovereign is Colonel-in-chief of all the constituent regiments of the Division, one of the five Foot Guards regiments is selected each year to troop their colour before the Sovereign at Trooping the Colour annually in June

14.
Foot Guards
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In some militaries, foot guards are senior infantry regiments. The Federation Guard is a tri-service Australian ceremonial unit that performs similar functions to the five British, the Foot Guards are the Regular Infantry regiments of the Household Division of the British Army. There have been six active regiments of guards and one reserve regiment. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was a formation of the Household Brigade in existence from 1900 to 1901. There are various other distinguishing features of the uniforms of the regiments, such as the colour of the plume, which side it is worn on the bearskin, the collar badge and the shoulder badge. When all five regiments parade together, they are in the order of Grenadier Guards on the flank, then Scots Guards, Welsh Guards, Irish Guards. This is because although the Coldstream are ranked second in seniority and these companies perform ceremonial and security duties in London. The Foot Guards have a role as the garrison for the capital, for the military security of the Sovereign. Two battalions are appointed for public duties, with a third from an infantry regiment since 1996. These provide the Queens Guard, the Tower of London Guard, the Guards Battalions on Public Duties are located in barracks close to Buckingham Palace for them to be able to reach the Palace very quickly in an emergency. In central London, a battalion is based at Wellington Barracks, Westminster, however, as of 2010, the independent incremental companies of the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards have been moved from Chelsea Barracks to the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich. While F Company, Scots Guards, are now based at Wellington Barracks alongside the resident infantry battalion. The Guards Battalion stationed at Windsor generally provides the Windsor Castle Guard, the Windsor battalion is at Victoria Barracks, a quarter of a mile south of the Castle. The Guards Division received a new following the restructuring of the army in 2004. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was in existence during the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1901, the Guards Machine Gun Regiment was raised for service during the First World War. Initially, each brigade of the Guards Division had a gun company attached. In 1917, these companies were regimented to form a battalion, further battalions were formed by conversion of the Household Cavalry regiments, and King George V ordered that the regiment be classified as the Sixth Regiment of Foot Guards, or Machine Gun Guards. However, it was disbanded in 1920 and they trained at the Guards Depot in Caterham, Surrey

15.
3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard)
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The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is Noli Me Tangere, the regiment is a major unit of the Military District of Washington. The regiment is the oldest active duty regiment in the US Army, although The Old Guard primarily functions in a ceremonial role, it is an infantry unit and thus required to meet standards for certification in its combat role. The unit also trains for its role to civil authorities in a wide range of scenarios. On order, it conducts defense support of authorities in the National Capital Region. Memorial affairs missions include standard and full honors funerals in Arlington National Cemetery, Old Guard soldiers also perform all dignified transfers of fallen soldiers returning to the United States. The Old Guard is the unit in the U. S. Armed Forces authorized, by a 1922 decree of the War Department and this was granted in honor of the 1847 bayonet charge by the regiment during the Battle of Cerro Gordo in the war with Mexico. In addition to the platoons, there are also elements of The Old Guard that serve special roles unique both to the regiment as well as the US Army. The Caisson Platoon also provides the riderless horses used in full honors funerals, the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps marches in Colonial style red coated uniforms—to be better seen through the smoke of battle, the uniforms also include tricorn hats and white powdered wigs. The drum major of the Fife and Drum Corps traditionally bears an espontoon in his hand to direct. As such, he is the soldier in all the U. S. Armed Forces authorized to bear a spontoon and to salute with the left hand, Escort Platoon is a term referring to a platoon of soldiers in the U. S. Armys 3d Infantry Regiment whose primary ceremonial mission is to march in ceremonies or military funerals. Generally, line infantry companies delegate the escort role to their 1st platoon and this platoon is generally composed of the tallest Soldiers assigned to the unit. The regiments Presidential Escort Platoon, Honor Guard Company, is based at Fort Myer, after a 31-year hiatus from service, the 2nd Battalion was reactivated on 15 March 2001 as part of the US Armys first Stryker brigade combat team. It served as part of the first deployment of a Stryker brigade combat team in 2003 and it then served a 15-month deployment in 2006–2007. It deployed to Iraq again in 2009 and Afghanistan in 2011, from 1966 to 1970, the 2nd Battalion was part of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam

16.
Republican Guard (France)
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The Republican Guard is part of the French Gendarmerie. It is responsible for providing guards of honor for the State, honor and security services for the highest national personalities and important foreign guests, Military ceremonies and guards of honour for fallen soldiers. The Guard however provides counter-sniper teams and SWAT teams, the Republican Guard also represents France at international events at home or abroad. The Republican Guard is twinned with the Red Guard of Senegal and its name derives from the Municipal Guard of Paris, established on 12 Vendémiaire XI by Napoleon Bonaparte. It distinguished itself in battles of historical significance, including Danzig and Friedland in 1807, Alcolea in 1808, in 1830, it was recreated, and again removed after the Revolution of 1848 in favor of the Civic Guard. June 1848 saw the creation of the Republican Guard of Paris, including an infantry regiment and it received its insignia July 14,1880. It took part in the First World War and saw its flag, during the Second World War, it reported to the police headquarters and took the name of Guard of Paris. Part of its staff rallied to General de Gaulle and the Guard was involved in the fightings alongside the FFI during the liberation of Paris. In 1952, the guard was renamed the Legion of the Republican Guard of Paris and took part in the Indochina War, in 1978, the guard took its current name of Republican Guard. President Giscard dEstaing gave it, on 11 November 1979, its new insignia, michele Alliot-Marie, Minister of Defence, said in October 2002, The Republican Guard has a popularity that transcends borders, it contributes to the splendour of the French military and France. These ceremonial functions are performed mainly by the first infantry regiment, detachments from the cavalry regiment reinforce the two infantry regiments in carrying out ceremonial and security duties in and around state buildings. These include the lining of both sides of the stairs of the Elysée or Matignon Palaces by dismounted cavalry on special occasions. These Republican Guards belong to the Cavalry Regiment and not to the units whose mission is to ensure the security of these palaces. Certain ceremonial duties in the form of guards are performed when state visits are made to the Paris museums or the Opera. Security missions Some guards are assigned to specific missions, Security of diplomatic bags entering and leaving the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Safety of the Tour de France by the motorcycle squadron, the Republican Guard belongs to the French National Gendarmerie. As a historically Parisian organization, the guards wear the armorial bearings of the city on their uniforms and it consists of two infantry regiments and a horse cavalry regiment. It also has four musical formations, as well as display teams demonstrating prowess in horseback or motorcycle maneuvers, the Guard is commanded by a general de division

17.
Victory Banner
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The Soviet Banner of Victory is the banner raised by the Red Army soldiers on the Reichstag building in Berlin, on May 1,1945, the day after Adolf Hitler committed suicide. It was raised by three Soviet soldiers, Alexei Berest, Mikhail Yegorov, and Meliton Kantaria, from USSR, the Victory Banner, made under battlefield conditions, is the official symbol of the Victory of the Soviet people against Nazi Germany during the Second World War. It is also believed to be one of the treasures of Russia. The Cyrillic inscription reads, 150th Rifle, Order of Kutuzov 2nd class, Idritsa Division, 79th Rifle Corps, 3rd Shock Army, 1st Byelorussian Front. Although this flag was not the one to be hoisted on the Reichstag, it was the first. On May 9, during Victory Day parade in Moscow, a copy of Victory Banner #5 is carried immediately behind the Russian flag by members of the Moscow Commandants Regiment Honor and Colors Guards. According to the Law of the Russian Federation, the Banner of Victory is to be stored forever in a place which provides its safety and public availability. There was a variation of the Soviet flag, without the hammer and sickle, to which president Boris Yeltsin gave a similar to that of the national flag. President Vladimir Putin also adopted the Victory Banner as the flag of the Russian Army. This flag was named after the flag raised on the Reichstag, today this variation is no longer an official symbol. The Russian Ground Forces flag was again changed to a flag without the Soviet-era star. The flags to be used for celebrations of the Soviet Victory Day were defined by a federal law, Order of Victory Victory Day Raising a flag over the Reichstag

18.
Soviet Armed Forces
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The OGPU was later made independent and amalgamated with the NKVD in 1934, and thus its Internal Troops were under the joint management of the Defense and Interior Commisariats. The Council of Peoples Commissars set up the Red Army by decree on January 15,1918, credit as the founder of the Red Army generally goes to Leon Trotsky, the Peoples Commissar for War from 1918 to 1924. At the beginning of its existence, the Red Army functioned as a voluntary formation, however, a decree of May 29,1918 imposed obligatory military service for men of ages 18 to 40. To service the massive draft, the Bolsheviks formed regional military commissariats, Democratic election of officers was also abolished by decree, while separate quarters for officers, special forms of address, saluting, and higher pay were all reinstated. After General Aleksei Brusilov offered the Bolsheviks his professional services in 1920, the Bolshevik authorities set up a special commission under the chair of Lev Glezarov, and by August 1920 had drafted about 315,000 ex-officers. Most often they held the position of military advisor, a number of prominent Soviet Army commanders had previously served as Imperial Russian generals. In fact, a number of former Imperial military men, notably a member of the Supreme Military Council, Mikhail Bonch-Bruevich, had joined the Bolsheviks earlier, the Polish-Soviet War represented the first foreign campaign of the Red Army. The Soviet counter-offensive following the 1920 Polish invasion of Ukraine at first met with success, in 1934, Mongolia and the USSR, recognising the threat from the mounting Japanese military presence in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, agreed to co-operate in the field of defence. On March 12,1936, the co-operation increased with the ten-year Mongolian-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, in May 1939, a Mongolian cavalry unit clashed with Manchukuoan cavalry in the disputed territory east of the Halha River. There followed a clash with a Japanese detachment, which drove the Mongolians over the river, the Soviet troops quartered there in accordance with the mutual defence protocol intervened and obliterated the detachment. Escalation of the conflict appeared imminent, and both sides spent June amassing forces, on July 1 the Japanese force numbered 38,000 troops. The combined Soviet-Mongol force had 12,500 troops, the Japanese crossed the river, but after a three-day battle their opponents threw them back over the river. The Japanese kept probing the Soviet defences throughout July, without success, on August 23 the entire Japanese force found itself encircled, and on August 31 largely destroyed. Artillery and air attacks wiped out those Japanese who refused to surrender, Japan requested a cease-fire, and the conflict concluded with an agreement between the USSR, Mongolia and Japan signed on September 15 in Moscow. In the conflict, the Red Army losses were 9,703 killed in action, the Japanese lost 25,000 KIA, the grand total was 61,000 killed, missing, wounded and taken prisoner. Shortly after the cease-fire, the Japanese negotiated access to the battlefields to collect their dead, finding thousands upon thousands of dead bodies came as a further shock to the already shaken morale of the Japanese soldiers. The Soviet invasion opened a front for the Poles and forced them to abandon plans for defence in the Romanian bridgehead area. The Soviet and German advance halted roughly at the Curzon Line, the defined Soviet sphere of interest matched the territory subsequently captured in the campaign

19.
Soviet Army
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It had 2.4 million men under its service during the Cold War. At the end of World War II the Red Army had over 500 rifle divisions and their experience of war gave the Soviets such faith in tank forces that the infantry force was cut by two-thirds. The Tank Corps of the war period were converted to tank divisions. MRDs had three motorized rifle regiments and a regiment, for a total of ten motor rifle battalions and six tank battalions. The Land Forces Chief Command was created for the first time in March 1946, four years later it was disbanded, only to be formed again in 1955. In March 1964 the Chief Command was again disbanded but recreated in November 1967, the personnel strength of the Ground Forces was reduced from 9.8 million to 2.4 million. Elsewhere, they may have assisted the NKVD in suppressing resistance in Western Ukraine. Soviet troops, including the 39th Army, remained at Port Arthur, control was then handed over to the new Chinese communist government. Soviet Army forces on USSR territory were apportioned among military districts, there were 32 of them in 1945. Sixteen districts remained from the mid-1970s to the end of the USSR, yet, the greatest Soviet Army concentration was in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, which suppressed the anti-Soviet Uprising of 1953 in East Germany. East European Groups of Forces were the Northern Group of Forces in Poland, and the Southern Group of Forces in Hungary, in 1958, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Romania. The Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia was established after Warsaw Pact intervention against the Prague Spring of 1968. In 1969, at the east end of the Soviet Union, the Sino-Soviet border conflict, prompted establishment of a 16th military district, in 1979, the Soviet Union entered Afghanistan, to support its Communist government, provoking a 10-year Afghan mujahideen guerrilla resistance. Throughout the Cold War, Western intelligence estimates calculated that the Soviet strength remained ca.2.8 million to ca.5.3 million men, by the middle of the 1980s the Ground Forces contained about 210 divisions. About three-quarters were motor rifle divisions and the tank divisions. There were also a number of artillery divisions, separate artillery brigades, engineer formations. However, only relatively few formations were fully war ready, three readiness categories, A, B, and V, after the first three letters of the Cyrillic alphabet, were in force. The Category A divisions were certified combat-ready and were fully equipped, B and V divisions were lower-readiness, 50–75% and 10–33% respectively

20.
Soviet Air Forces
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The Soviet Air Forces was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces, the Air Forces were formed from components of the Imperial Russian Air Service in 1917, and faced their greatest test during World War II. The groups were involved in the Korean War, and dissolved along with the Soviet Union itself in 1991–92. Former Soviet Air Forces assets were divided into several air forces of former Soviet republics. March of the Pilots was its anthem, the All-Russia Collegium for Direction of the Air Forces of the Old Army was formed on 20 December 1917. This was a Bolshevik aerial headquarters initially led by Konstantin Akashev and it became the Directorate of the USSR Air Forces on 28 March 1924, and then the Directorate of the Workers-Peasants Red Army Air Forces on 1 January 1925. Gradually its influence on aircraft design became greater, from its earliest days, the force mimicked ground forces organization especially in the 1930s, by which time it was made up of air armies, aviation corps, aviation divisions, and aviation regiments. At first, the I-16 proved superior to any Luftwaffe fighters, however, the Soviets refused to supply the plane in adequate numbers, and their aerial victories were soon squandered because of their limited use. Later, Bf-109s delivered to Francos Spanish Nationalist air forces secured air superiority for the Nationalists, on 19 November 1939, VVS headquarters was again titled the Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Forces under the WPRA HQ. Between 1933 and 1938, the Soviet government planned and funded missions to break numerous world aviation records, not only did aviation records and achievements become demonstrations of the USSRs technological progress, they also served as legitimization of the socialist system. With each new success, Soviet press trumpeted victories for socialism, furthermore, Soviet media idolized record-breaking pilots, exalting them not only as role models for Soviet society, but also as symbols of progress towards the socialist-utopian future. The early 1930s saw a shift in focus away from collectivist propaganda. In the case of aviation, the government began glorifying people who utilized aviation technology instead of glorifying the technology itself. Pilots such as Valery Chkalov, Georgy Baydukov, Alexander Belyakov, in May 1937, Stalin charged pilots Chkalov, Baydukov, and Belyakov with the mission to navigate the first transpolar flight in history. On 20 June 1937, the aviators landed their ANT-25 in Vancouver, a month later, Stalin ordered the departure of a second crew to push the boundaries of modern aviation technology even further. The public reaction to the flights was euphoric. The media called the pilots Bolshevik knights of culture and progress, Soviet citizens celebrated Aviation Day on 18 August with as much zeal as they celebrated the October Revolution anniversary. Literature including poems, short stories, and novels emerged celebrating the feats of the aviator-celebrities, feature films like Victory, Tales of Heroic Aviators, and Valery Chkalov reinforced the positive hero imagery, celebrating the aviators individuality within the context of a socialist government

21.
Soviet Navy
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The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. The influence of the Soviet Navy played a role in the Cold War. The Soviet Navy was divided into four major fleets, the Northern, Pacific, Black Sea, the Caspian Flotilla was a smaller force operating in the land-locked Caspian Sea. Main components of the Soviet Navy included Soviet Naval Aviation, Naval Infantry, most of the Soviet Navy was reformed into the Russian Navy after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, while some elements became the basis of the Ukrainian, Azerbaijani and Georgian navies. During the revolution, sailors deserted their ships at will and generally neglected their duties, the officers were dispersed and most of the sailors left their ships. Work stopped in the shipyards, where uncompleted ships deteriorated rapidly, the Black Sea Fleet fared no better than the Baltic. The Bolshevik revolution entirely disrupted its personnel, with murders of officers. At the end of April 1918, German troops entered Crimea, the more effective ships were moved from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk where, after an ultimatum from Germany, they were scuttled by Vladimir Lenins order. The ships remaining in Sevastopol were captured by the Germans and then, after November 1918, on 1 April 1919, when Red Army forces captured Crimea, the British squadron had to withdraw, but before leaving they damaged all the remaining battleships and sank thirteen new submarines. When the White Army captured Crimea in 1919, it rescued and reconditioned a few units, at the end of the civil war, Wrangels fleet, a White fleet, moved to Bizerta in French Tunisia, where it was interned. The first ship of the navy could be considered the rebellious Imperial Russian cruiser Aurora. Sailors of the Baltic fleet supplied the fighting force of the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution, some imperial vessels continued to serve after the revolution, albeit with different names. The Soviet Navy, established as the Workers and Peasants Red Fleet by a 1918 decree of the Soviet government, was less than service-ready during the interwar years, as the countrys attentions were largely directed internally, the Navy did not have much funding or training. The greater part of the old fleet was sold by the Soviet government to Germany for scrap, in the Baltic Sea there remained only three much-neglected battleships, two cruisers, some ten destroyers, and a few submarines. Despite this state of affairs, the Baltic Fleet remained a significant naval formation, there also existed some thirty minor-waterways combat flotillas. During the 1930s, as the industrialization of the Soviet Union proceeded, approved by the Labour and Defence Council in 1926, the Naval Shipbuilding Program included plans to construct twelve submarines, the first six were to become known as the Dekabrist class. Beginning 4 November 1926, Technical Bureau Nº4, under the leadership of B. M, malinin, managed the submarine construction works at the Baltic Shipyard. In subsequent years,133 submarines were built to designs developed during Malinins management, additional developments included the formation of the Pacific Fleet in 1932 and the Northern Fleet in 1933

22.
Medal "For Courage in a Fire"
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The medals statute was amended on July 18,1980 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR № 2523-X. For military recipients, the award was made by the chain of command. If worn in the presence or awards of the Russian Federation, posthumous awards of the Medal For Courage in a fire, or medals awarded to recipients since dead, were to be retained, along with the attestation of award booklet, by the family as a souvenir. The Medal For Courage in a Fire was a 32 mm in diameter circular medal struck from silver, later examples were struck from silver-plated nickel. It had a rim on both sides. On the obverse in the center, the image of crossed fire ax. At the bottom, the image of the hammer and sickle over laurel and oak branches, along the side and upper circumference. The medal was secured to a standard Soviet pentagonal mount by a ring through the suspension loop. The mount was covered by a 24 mm wide red silk ribbon with 3 mm wide blue edge stripes bordered on both sides by 1 mm white stripes. The individuals listed below were recipients of the Medal For Courage in a Fire

23.
Vladimir Putin
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Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician. Putin is the current President of the Russian Federation, holding the office since 7 May 2012 and he was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000, President from 2000 to 2008, and again Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012. During his second term as Prime Minister, he was the Chairman of the ruling United Russia Party, born in Leningrad, Putin studied German in high school and speaks the language fluently. He studied Law at the Saint Petersburg State University, graduating in 1975, Putin was a KGB Foreign Intelligence Officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring in 1991 to enter politics in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsins administration, rising quickly through the ranks and becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Yeltsin resigned. Putin won the subsequent 2000 Presidential election by a 53% to 30% margin, thus avoiding a runoff with his Communist Party of the Russian Federation opponent and he was re-elected President in 2004 with 72% of the vote. During Putins first presidency, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, the growth was a result of the 2000s commodities boom, high oil prices, and prudent economic and fiscal policies. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third presidential term in 2008. The 2008 Presidential election was won by Dmitry Medvedev, who appointed Putin Prime Minister, in September 2011, after presidential terms were extended from four to six years, Putin announced he would seek a third term as president. He won the March 2012 Presidential election with 64% of the vote, under Putins leadership, Russia has scored poorly on both the Democracy index and the Corruption index. Putin has enjoyed high approval ratings during his career. In 2007, he was the Time Person of the Year, in 2015, he was #1 on the Times Most Influential People List. Forbes ranked him the Worlds Most Powerful Individual every year from 2013 to 2016, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, the youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina. His birth was preceded by the death of two brothers, Viktor and Albert, born in the mid-1930s, Albert died in infancy and Viktor died of diphtheria during the Siege of Leningrad. Putins mother was a worker and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy. Early in World War II, his father served in the battalion of the NKVD. Later, he was transferred to the army and was severely wounded in 1942. On 1 September 1960, Putin started at School No.193 at Baskov Lane and he was one of a few in the class of approximately 45 pupils who was not yet a member of the Young Pioneer organization

24.
Federal Assembly (Russia)
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The Federal Assembly is the national legislature of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of Russian Federation. It was preceded by the Supreme Soviet and it consists of the State Duma, which is the lower house, and the Federation Council, which is the upper house. Both houses are located in Moscow, the Chairman of the Federation Council is the third most important position after the President and the Prime Minister. In the case of incapacity of the President and the Prime Minister, as the Russian legislature, all laws must be voted in the Federal Assembly before they are signed into law. All bills, even those proposed by the Federation Council, must first be considered by the State Duma. Upon adoption by a majority of the full State Duma membership, a law is considered by the Federation Council. The Federation Council cannot make changes in bills passed by the Duma, if the Federation Council rejects a bill passed by the State Duma, the two chambers may form a conciliation commission to work out a compromise version of the legislation. The State Duma and the Federation Council usually meet separately, since the mid 2000-ies in Russia discusses the idea to combine in one building of the Parliamentary centre of the Russian State Duma and Federation Council. In 2012, the idea was supported by President Dmitry Medvedev, in September 2014 it was selected the territory Mnyovniki floodplain that environmentalists protested. To choose the project of the building offered to the members of both houses of Parliament on the basis of the architectural competition. But the submitted work caused parliamentarians aesthetic differences, which allow not helped by repeated competition, the complexity was caused by the financing issue. To start the work of the Parliamentary center by 2020, city Duma Regional parliaments of Russia Politics of Russia List of legislatures by country Russian Federation Today — Official issue of the Federal Assembly

25.
Michael Mullen
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Michael Glenn Mike Mullen, AO, MSC is a retired United States Navy admiral, who served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1,2007, to September 30,2011. Mullen previously served as the Navys 28th Chief of Naval Operations from July 22,2005, as Chairman, Mullen was the highest-ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces. He retired from the Navy after over 43 years of service, Mullen is now a Professor at Princeton University. He attended St. Charles Borromeo Church Elementary School in North Hollywood, johnson, former Secretary of the Navy and Senator from Virginia Jim Webb, former NSC staff member, political commentator, and author Oliver North, former Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, and NASA administrator Charles Bolden, as a junior officer, he served in various leadership positions aboard USS Collett, USS Blandy, USS Fox and USS Sterett. Mullen’s last command at sea was as Commander, U. S. Second Fleet/Commander, Mullen served as Company Officer and Executive Assistant to the Commandant of Midshipmen at the U. S. Naval Academy. On the Chief of Naval Operations staff, Mullen served as Deputy Director and Director of Surface Warfare and as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements and he was the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to October 2004. He was recognized by his peers in 1987 with the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership skill and he is one of 53 naval officers to be recognized by this award since its inception in 1980. As Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Mullen had operational responsibility for NATO missions in the Balkans, Iraq, and the Mediterranean. As Commander, U. S. Naval Forces Europe, he was responsible for providing command, operational control. He assumed these duties on October 8,2004, and was relieved of them upon his becoming Chief of Naval Operations, on October 29,2006, the Honolulu Advertiser published an op-ed by Mullen that defined the concept of the 1, 000-ship navy. On August 3,2007, the U. S. Senate confirmed Mullen as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mullen was sworn in on October 1,2007. On March 18,2009, Gates recommended to President Barack Obama that Mullen be re-nominated for a term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on September 25,2009, on February 2,2010, Mullen and Gates said that they fully supported President Obama’s decision to end the Dont ask, dont tell law, which prevented openly gay people from serving in the military. “It is my belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. He noted that, there does not appear to be much political progress in Iraq and he also said, If arent making progress in realm, the prospects for movement in a positive direction are not very good. Failure to achieve progress toward reconciliation requires a strategic reassessment. Mullen further told the Senate that the United States needs to bring as much pressure on as possibly can, President Obama, Secretary of Defense Panetta and Admiral Mullen provided the certification required by the Act to Congress on July 22,2011

26.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Moscow)
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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial, dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed during World War II. It is located at the Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden in Moscow and this was the location of the closest approach of the German armies to Moscow during the war. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the battle, in December 1966 these remains were relocated to the Kremlin Wall, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was designed by architects D. I. Burdin, V. A. Klimov, Yu. R. Rabayev and sculptor Nikolai Tomsky, the dark red porphyry monument is decorated with a bronze sculpture of a laurel branch and a soldiers helmet laid upon a banner. In front of the monument, there is a star in a square field of labradorite. The flame illuminates a bronze inscription Имя твоё неизвестно, подвиг твой бессмертен, the torch for the memorials Eternal Flame was transported from Leningrad, where it had been lit from the Eternal Flame at the Field of Mars. To the left of the tomb is a wall with an inlay stating,1941 - To Those Who Have Fallen For The Motherland -1945. The plate for “Stalingrad” read “Volgograd” until September 2004, further to the right of these monuments is an obelisk in red granite, listing the names of 40 “Cities of Military Glory” divided into groups of four. This monument was dedicated on May 8,2010, a Changing of the Guard Ceremony takes place every hour. The living & the dead, the rise and fall of the cult of World War II in Russia

27.
Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev
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His death was officially acknowledged on 11 November simultaneously by Soviet radio and television. After five days of mourning, Brezhnev was given a state funeral. Yuri Andropov, Brezhnevs eventual successor as secretary, was chairman of the committee in charge of managing Brezhnevs funeral, held on 15 November 1982. Eulogies were delivered by Yuri Andropov, Dmitriy Ustinov, Anatoly Alexandrov, there had been rumours of Brezhnevs death ever since the mid-1970s, he had been absent from important meetings demanded by protocol and it was rumoured that his health was in decline. Brezhnev had rarely appeared in public for most of 1982 and was surrounded by doctors. He suffered a stroke in May 1982, but refused to relinquish office until he died on 10 November 1982 after suffering a heart attack. He was honoured with a funeral in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis on the Red Square after a five-day period of nationwide mourning. The first hint of his death to the Soviet people came at 7,15 p. m, Moscow Time, when the usual television programs were altered and a pop music concert was replaced by a documentary on Vladimir Lenin. On Vremya, the Soviet Unions state television newscast, the hosts wore somber clothes instead of their normally informal dress code. At first, Soviet citizens believed it was Andrei Kirilenko who had died, Brezhnevs death was announced on 11 November simultaneously by Soviet radio and television hosts. The television announcement was read by Igor Kirillov with tears in his eyes at 11 a. m and this was a breach of protocol, and, as Brezhnev had earlier signed messages to all Soviet-aligned heads of state, the absence of his signature was seen as suspicious. The delay in declaring the death of Brezhnev was seen by some First World commentators as proof of the power struggle in the Soviet leadership over who would succeed him. Konstantin Chernenko was seen as the most likely candidate to succeed Brezhnev, on 11 November Yuri Andropov was elected chairman of the committee in charge of managing Brezhnevs funeral. This election marked the beginning of Brezhnevs funeral, the occasion was seen as a sign by First World commentators that Andropov was the most likely candidate for the position of general secretary. During the funerals of Soviet leaders there was a custom of displaying their decorations on velvet cushions and this task was traditionally given to an escort of senior officers, each carrying a cushion with one decoration on it. However, as Brezhnev had more than two hundred decorations, several were placed on each cushion, Brezhnevs funeral officer escort ultimately included forty-four persons. Galina Brezhneva, Brezhnevs disgraced daughter, was followed by two burly guards. Andropov, Brezhnevs successor as secretary, embraced Viktoria Brezhneva

28.
Poklonnaya Hill
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Poklonnaya Gora was, at 171.5 metres, one of the highest spots in Moscow. Its two summits used to be separated by the Setun River, until one of the summits was razed in 1987. Since 1936, the area has part of Moscow and now contains the Victory Park with many tanks. Historically, the hill had great importance, as it commanded the best view of the Russian capital. Its name is derived from the Russian for to bow down, in 1812, it was the spot where Napoleon in vain expected the keys to the Kremlin to be brought to him by Russians. In the 1960s, the Soviet authorities decided to put the area to use as a museum dedicated to the Russian victory over Napoleon. The New Triumphal Arch, erected in wood in 1814 and in marble in 1827 to a design by Osip Bove, was relocated and reconstructed here in 1968. A loghouse, where Kutuzov presided over the Fili conference which decided to abandon Moscow to the enemy, was designated a national monument, the huge panorama Battle of Borodino by Franz Roubaud was installed here in 1962. A monument to Kutuzov was opened in 1973, the Victory Park and the Square of Victors are important parts of the outdoor museum. In 1987 the hill was leveled to the ground and in the 1990s an obelisk was added with a statue of Nike, the obelisks height is exactly 141.8 metres, which is 10 centimetres for every day of the War. A golden-domed Orthodox church was erected on the hilltop in 1993-95, followed by a memorial mosque and the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue. On 9 May 1995 the first post-Soviet victory parade was held here, with President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin and Minister of Defence, commanding the parade was commander of the Moscow Military District Colonel-General Leonid Kuznetsov. This parade was also the first major display of the new army uniforms. At the 60th V-day celebrations in 2005, President Vladimir Putin inaugurated 15 extravagant bronze columns, symbolizing main fronts, since the 1980s the hill also includes the monumental museum to the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War. The main building of the museum was constructed between 1983 and 1995, hall of glory holds reliefs of the 12 soviet Hero Cities, on its marmor walls are inscribed the names of several thousand Heroes of the Soviet Union, awarded during the war. Hall of remembrance downstairs contains Books of remembrance with the names of more than 26 million soviet war dead, report in English on exhibits at Moscow Victory Park Photo Paying respect to Russias heroes. Satellite photos of, The Moscow Triumphal Arch Poklonnaya Hill main monument War technics museum, tanks are hidden under trees

29.
Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow
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The Museum of the Great Patriotic War is a history museum located in Moscow at Poklonnaya Gora. The building was designed by architect Anatoly Polyansky, work on the museum began on March 3,1986, and the museum was opened to the public on May 9,1995. The museum features exhibits and memorials concerning World War II, known in Russia as The Great Patriotic War, the museum features 14,143 square meters of exhibit space for permanent collections and an additional 5,500 square meters for temporary exhibits. In the center of the museum is the Hall of Glory, a large bronze sculpture, the Soldier of Victory, stands in the center of this hall. Below lies the Hall of Remembrance and Sorrow, which honors Soviet people who died in the war and this room is dimly lit and strings of glass beads hang from the ceiling, symbolizing tears shed for the dead. In addition, the museum maintains an electronic memory book which attempts to record the name, the museum is set in Victory Park, a 2, 424-hectare park on Poklonnaya Hill. The park features a large, paved plaza, fountains, and open space where military vehicles, cannons, and other apparatus from World War II are displayed. Also in the park are the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue, the Church of St. George, the Moscow Memorial Mosque, an arch, an obelisk. Official Site Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War at Museums of Russia Photos of the museum Museum of the Great Patriotic War at Google Cultural Institute

30.
Dress uniform
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See military uniform and full dress for wider coverage of dress uniforms. Dress uniform, is the most formal uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions. The dress uniform correspond to the white tie dress code. Uniform design may be distinct to a service, or to a Regiment or Branch of Service and they are a reminder of the military and law enforcement history of Argentina, especially during the early years of nationhood and the wars of independence that the country was a part. But the full uniform of the Argentine Army as a whole is green with a visor cap, epaulettes, sword set and scabbard, long green pants, a black belt. Marines wear peaked caps with the dress uniform, epaulettes are only worn with the dress uniform. For the Argentine Air Force, a uniform to one used by the Royal Air Force is used however the color used is much brighter. Regardless of service branch military police personnel wear helmets with their dress uniforms, Dress uniforms for regiments in the Canadian Army vary depending on the regiment. Regulations for the wear of uniforms are contained in the Canadian Forces publication Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, Dress uniforms in the Royal Canadian Navy follow protocols outlined in the Distinct Environmental Uniform introduced in the 1980s. The pith helmet remains in use for ceremonial parade positions only, the youth cadet programs in Canada, the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, Royal Canadian Sea Cadets and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets each maintain their own dress uniforms. The German Feldgrau uniforms are the full dress of the Chilean Army while cadets of the Army Military School Bernardo OHiggins Riquelme wear the Prussian blue uniform with a Pickelhaube helmet. Some Chilean Army units wear the Army uniform during the War of the Pacific during parades, the Chilean Navys officers dress uniform is naval blue with a visor hat, sword strap black pants and boots. The uniforms of the Naval School Arturo Prat is also blue with pants, but with a hat design, similar to those worn by Prat. The 2001 Air Force uniform is a blue polo and pants, black belt, sword strap, visor hat. As with many European countries, the French military used in the 19th, many traditional and heavily-decorated dress uniforms. Since World War Two, they are not in use and usually restricted to special Army. In the Army, only bands and schools have a dress uniform, the Republican Guard is the last unit to wear dress uniform as service uniform, as honor guard detachments are required to wear it while on duty. The cavalry regiment wear a 19th century dragoon uniform, with helmet and white riding trousers

31.
2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade
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The Moscow Victory Day Parade of 2010 was held on 9 May 2010 to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The parade marks the Soviet Unions victory in the Great Patriotic War, also taking part for the first time were the Yakovlev Yak-130 jet trainer aircraft and the Mil Mi-26 heavy helicopter. The mobile ICBM Topol-M missile, that first appeared at the 2009 parade, was here again for the second consecutive year. The 2010 Parade marked the first time that foreign and Commonwealth of Independent States soldiers joined Russian forces on Red Square for the parade, battalions from the CIS included Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine among them. Upon request from the government of Turkmenistan, the contingent from Turkmenistan was led by an officer riding on horseback, Poland was represented by the Representative Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces. The United States was represented by the 2nd Battalion of the 18th Infantry Regiment, France was represented by pilots and aircraft from the Normandie-Niemen Air Regiment. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the inclusion of troops in the parade recognition of their common victory in World War II. The inclusion of troops in the parade was not without controversy. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation held a May Day rally in Moscow, a poll run by the Levada Center saw 20 percent of respondents disapproving of the presence of foreign troops, with 8 percent being strongly opposed. Only the victorious are going, what will the defeated do there, king Michael of Romania, one of the last heads of state alive from World War II, was invited by Russian president Medvedev to attend the ceremony. German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed her attendance on 30 April, as did Acting President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski, chinese President Hu Jintao confirmed his attendance at the parade on 3 May. The following day Slovak President Ivan Gašparovičs attendance was confirmed, on 8 May Sarkozy and Berlusconi announced that they wouldnt be attending the parade in Moscow, so that they could tackle the European sovereign debt crisis. Both the United Kingdom and the United States had planned to send high-profile representatives, according to The Guardian, both figures were rejected by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, however, in what both countries perceived as a diplomatic snub. The UK and US were instead represented by their ambassadors to Russia, Dame Anne Pringle, the event then began with the display of the flag of Russia and the Victory Banner. At 10, 14am, Serdyukov reported to Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and Russian President, after this President Medvedev made a speech in which he stated, Sixty-five years ago Nazism was vanquished. The machine that was wiping out whole nations was stopped, peace returned to our country and to Europe as a whole. An end was put to the ideology that was destroying the fundamentals of civilisation, Medvedev also emphasised the role the Soviet Union played in the war, bearing the brunt of Nazi attacks, in which some three-quarters of their military forces participated. Some 10,500 thousand troops marched, and approximately 1,000 troops from the Commonwealth of Independent States, Poland, the United Kingdom, France and the United States also marched

32.
Kremlin Regiment
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The Kremlin Regiment, also called the Presidential Regiment, is a unique military regiment and part of the Russian Federal Protective Service with the status of a special unit. The regiment ensures the security of the Kremlin, its treasures, the regiment is housed in the historic Kremlin Arsenal. In 1924, they were assigned with the duty to guard Lenins Mausoleum by orders of the ARCEC, in October 1935, the officers academy left the Kremlin for the Moscow district of Lefortovo and a Special Purpose Battalion was created to replace them on Kremlin and Mausoleum guard duties. The UKMK and the 1st Division were separate public security units with neither subordinate to the other, however, the Regiments Day is celebrated annually on May 7. On June 25,1941, the Commandant of the Garrison ordered the regiment to reinforce the defenses, in 1942–1943 four groups of snipers from the Kremlin Regiment were sent to the Western and Volkhov Fronts. The snipers killed more than 1,200 German soldiers and officers, on February 23,1944 the Kremlin Regiment was decorated with the Order of the Red Banner. Three battalions from the regiment took part in the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 on Red Square, in 1952 the regiment was reorganized into the Separate Special Purpose Regiment. On May 7,1965 it was decorated with the Order of the Red Banner for its achievements during the Great Patriotic War. On May 8,1967 the regiment took part in the ceremony of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden. In 1973 the unit was renamed the Separate Red Banner Kremlin Regiment, on September 2,2002 on the basis of the 11th Cavalry Regiment a cavalry escort unit was formed as part of the Presidential Regiment. Starting in 2004 a Guard Mounting ceremony has held on Cathedral Square on Sundays. On May 7,2006 the regiment gained a new regimental color and it has also recently acquired special ceremonial uniforms closely modeled on those worn on parade by the infantry and the cavalry of the Russian Imperial Guard until 1914. These are worn in addition to modern style dress uniforms adopted during the years of the Soviet period. When in modern dress uniforms, they wear blue berets or peaked caps and this is also the case of the Regiments Presidential Band, which wears white uniforms similar to those by the Imperial Guard bands of the late 19th century. Since 2005 the Cavalry Escort Squadron wears, on occasions, uniforms worn by the cavalry units of the Red Army. On April 16,2016, the Guard Mounting that day featured the first woman officer to serve in the Cavalry Squadron and this was also the first to be live steamed online. kremlin. ru Regimental association website Kremlin Guards Don Spacesuits In Battle Against Winter Weather

33.
Russian language
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Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi

34.
Komsomolskaya Pravda
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Komsomolskaya Pravda is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper, founded on 13 March 1925. During the Soviet era, Komsomolskaya Pravda was a newspaper of the Soviet Union. Established in accordance with a decision of the 13th Congress of the Russian Communist Party, Komsomolskaya Pravda began as the official organ of the Communist Union of Youth, or Komsomol, the youth wing of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. As such, it targeted the same 14 to 28 demographic as its parent organization, focusing initially on popular science, as the Soviet Union started to collapse, on 1 December 1990 the paper shifted from serving as a Komsomol mouthpiece to become a Russian nationwide daily tabloid newspaper. Nevertheless, on 21 August the newspaper published a chronicle of the coup as a historical document. The paper is owned by Media Partner, which in turn is owned by ESN Group, a company led by Grigory Berezkin. In December 2000 the Norwegian media company A-Pressen bought 25 percent plus one share of the paper and it is published in tabloid format by Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda. Komsomolskaya Pravda reached its highest circulation in 1990 when it sold almost 22 million daily copies, in 2001 it was the ninth-top European newspaper with a circulation of 785,000 copies. It was the newspaper in Russia in 2006 with daily circulation ranging from 700,000 to 3.1 million copies. Its March 2008 circulation, certified by the NCS, was 660,000 copies, in the same year the online version of the paper was also the most visited news website. In January 2015 a front-page article in Komsomolskaya Pravda suggested that the United States had orchestrated the Charlie Hebdo shooting